Archive

Osprey is 40 years young! I fondly recall the moment I selected “Osprey” for the new company, way back in 1974. At that time this beautiful bird was an endangered species and I thought, if that bird can survive the next few tough years, so can this new company! Like the bird, Osprey Packs has flourished since then, and continues to grow and multiply. Over all these years, we at Osprey have had the pleasure to meet and work with some of the finest, warmest people involved in this wonderful, friendly industry. We are indebted to all of you out there who have supported Osprey along the way, through thick and thin, and have made the last 40 years so fun and rewarding!

-Mike Pfotenhauer, Osprey Packs founder and Head Designer

Since 1974, when Osprey Packs was founded by Mike Pfotenhauer in the front of his rented house in Santa Cruz, California, our mission has been to create innovative high performance gear that reflects our love of adventure and our devotion to the outdoors. We’re so honored to be commemorating the 40th anniversary of Osprey Packs — thank you for 40 incredible years!

To celebrate, we’re giving away 40 Limited Edition bags over 40 days in celebration of our past, our present & our future. Enter to win #Osprey1974 by submitting a photo showing us where you’ve gone with Osprey: your favorite day hike, a long summer weekend backpacking, or satisfying your wanderlust abroad. One Grand Prize winner will win the Osprey pack of their choice!

Below are the winning photos from of Round 1 of the #Osprey1974 photo contest! Each winner will receive a 40th Anniversary Limited Edition Transporter 40 bag.

Have you entered #Osprey1974 yet? Join us in celebrating 40 years of Osprey Packs by sharing a photo of your adventures with Osprey! We’re thrilled to celebrate 4 decades of adventures with you and to give away 40 bags over 40 days.

When we launched our #OspreyAt40 photo contest earlier this year, we knew we’d see some amazing photos of your many adventures, travels and treks — but we were blown away by the number of phenomenal photos submitted by so many loyal Osprey fans. Thank you for sharing your memories with us — we’re honored to have been part of your hikes, backpacking trips, MTB rides, snow days, city walks, summits, sojourns and every other adventure you’ve had with an Osprey Pack on your back.

We’re going to continue to celebrate our 40th Anniversary throughout the year — so please stay tuned for other fun contests and prizes. In May, we’ll be premiering the full-length documentary “Osprey Packs: 40 Years in the Making.” In the meantime, below are the final winners selected by our internal judges for Round 4 of #OspreyAt40. (Or visit our gallery of all of the 40 winning #OspreyAt40 photos here.)

Thank you again for sharing your photos with us and for celebrating our 40th Anniversary!

Round 4 is the final round of our 40-day giveaway celebrating our 40th Anniversary — it’s time to submit your favorite photo memory of Osprey Packs if you haven’t yet already! At the beginning of Round 4 of #OspreyAt40, we’ll once again reset the votes on all photo submissions back to “0.” Resetting the votes to “0” tomorrow morning will mean that each entrant is once again eligible to automatically win a Limited Edition Transporter 40 pack if their photo submission is one of the first five photos to reach 40 votes on our contest page.

We launched this contest as a fun way to celebrate this milestone anniversary with the folks who’ve made the last 40 years possible: our fans. And we’ve been blown away by the amazing photos we’ve received of so many journeys, hikes, travels and treks. We’re so glad to have been a part of those incredible adventures! Below are 10 more #OspreyAt40 winners, including the 5 photos selected as Round 2 winners by our judges, along with the top 5 Round 3 winners selected by voters.

Good luck everyone! If you’re a US resident who hasn’t yet entered but would like to, please do so here: tinyurl.com/OspreyAt40

Tomorrow morning we’re kicking off Round 3 of our 40th Anniversary Photo Contest: at 11:15 am MT all of the “votes” on every photo submission in the #OspreyAt40 contest will be reset to “0.” Resetting the votes at the beginning of each round means that everyone who has entered has another chance to automatically win a Transporter 40 if their #OspreyAt40 photo is one of the first 5 photos in this round to reach 40 votes on the contest page/gallery www.tinyurl.com/OspreyAt40.

Enter to win by uploading a photo of your favorite memory with Osprey Packs – we want to see your sunset hikes on local trails, summers backpacking through Europe, rides on your favorite singletrack and trips around the world!

Show us the Osprey Packs that have been part of your journeys and enter to win a Limited Edition 40th Anniversary Transporter 40 to take on your next adventure.

Here’s how to enter #OspreyAt40:

1. Choose a photo that shows you on your favorite Osprey Packs adventure: this can be a day hike, backpacking on the Inca Trail, biking through town, at the beaches in Phi Phi, finishing a great day at Smith Rock, skiing the backcountry – whatever “adventure” means to you.

3. Upload your photo directly to the Osprey Packs Facebook contest page OR upload to Instagram/Twitter and tag your Instagram/Twitter photo #OspreyAt40 and @OspreyPacks (Instagram/Twitter account must be public and tags must be in the photo caption/comments). You must enter your photo between January 27th – March 7th, 2014.

4. Beginning on January 27th, vote for your favorite photos on the Facebook contest page. During each 10 day period, the first 5 photos to get 40 votes will automatically win a limited edition pack, the remaining 5 winners in each 10 day period will be selected by a panel of judges. We’ll be announcing 10 winners on Day 10, Day 20, Day 30 and Day 40 of the photo contest, for a total of 40 winning photo submissions.

5. Make sure to “like” Osprey Packs on Facebook and/or tag #OspreyAt40 on your Instagram/Twitter photo submission (and follow us on Instagram/Twitter while you’re at it!) for your entry to be valid. These photos should be your own, one entry per person. We’re looking forward to seeing all of your submissions of #OspreyAt40!

Our Llewellin Setter, Maggie, on a frigid day during in the Driftless Wisconsin winter. Photo courtesy Annika Swenson.

Dogs have a way of snuggling, running and playing their way into our lives. Heck, my dog is lying on top of my feet as I write this! After 2 weeks and dozens of wonderful photos from our Facebook fans we’ve chosen three final winners… congratulations to Clint Huffman, PK Kopischke and Annika Swenson! And an honorable mention to Mandy Creighton. We loved your shot of Lucky leaping in Australia, but unfortunately winners are restricted to the US only.

Thanks to all who participated and who give your dogs a warm and kind home this winter. We’ll leave you with the caption from one of our winners, PK Kopischke, that seems to capture this wonderful relationship we have with our canine companions:

You came to me at 2:30 in the afternoon on this day back in 1996. A little wet ball of peanut butter fur. From the moment I laid eyes on you, I was smitten. For the next 13+ years, we travelled thousands of miles over earth, snow and water. You never complained and always had a smile & wet kiss at the end of the day’s journey. We saw more of the Rockies than most ever will. Finally, the day came that your body could no longer keep up with your insatiable Love for the outdoors. You chose the time to join all the others in a place I shall someday see. For all the years of ‘unconditional’ Love that you shared with everyone you met, I speak for all… We Love & Miss You. Happy Birthday! Zuke

Because we have so many amazing entries, we’ve pulled together a photo gallery below of a few more of our favorites. And for all of you dog lovers out there, don’t worry it’s not over yet, we’ve still got more great prizes up for grabs next week. All you have to do is enter!

Happy Friday!

Nellie, after a day of swimming in Montana. Photo courtesy Joe Caddy.

Aragon as a puppy at Ruby beach with Mellissa Potrikhalin First time at the coast and he loved it. Photo courtesy Nate Sofie.

Lupine on the summit of Mt. Eva. Photo courtesy Stacey Morningwake.

OH NO! Is that a spider??? Photo courtesy Nathan Sass.

Island Lake is beautiful; I love the scenery, and Rio (my adorable little bundle of fur) seems to enjoy it as well! Photo courtesy Paige Nickell.

Winston and Madeline on a beach in Oregon. These midwestern mutts don’t get a lot of opportunities for playing at the ocean, and they made the most of it. Photo courtesy Amy White Schmitz.

I think that I get more hiking in during the winter now, I couldn’t imagine going out without my Aussie Doc. Whether there’s no snow or a few feet he’ll stay out with me all day, then when it get’s too cold he’ll head for higher ground. Photo courtesy Eric Rhein.

She’s come a long way: after being rescued from Hurricane Katrina in pretty bad shape, Kerry’s become quite the the snow dog and LOVES cross-country ski adventures. Photo courtesy Lynn Cox.

It’s December and the winter season is upon us in full force. This month is a time for remembering our favorite adventures of the the past few months and revving up for new ones in the coming year. And perhaps the most important part to celebrate: the friends who have accompanied us on our adventures…

Here at Osprey, sometimes our most favorite companions in the outdoors just happen to be our beloved four-legged friends. It’s not often that you will find us out and about without one of our furry friends in tow. Whether we’re out hiking or trail running on our local trail, or spending the day at our favorite climbing crag or rising early for some dawn patrol turns, we’re always grateful to have our trusty sidekicks along for the ride.

And we know you love your dogs too! We’ve seen some great photos come across our Facebook page of our fans with their dogs enjoying the great outdoors, so we’ve decided to close out this year by celebrating our furry friends with a photo contest!

Show us a photo of you and your dog on your favorite hike this year or your pup lazing in the sun at your local climbing spot. Show us your pet chasing you down singletrack on a mountain bike ride or maybe even your furry friend hitching a ride in your pack after a long backpacking trip! Whatever photo you submit, just make sure it includes a photo of your dog out and about with you on an adventure.

Post your favorite shots on our Facebook page for a chance to win some great prizes! This Friday, December 9, we’ll give away two packs: a Karve 6 Sidecountry pack and a Viper or Verve 10 Hydration pack. And next Friday, December 16, we’ll be giving away 2 Kode Ski packs to our final runners up and an Osprey travel set, including a Vector 22 carryon bag + a Talon 22 daypack to our grand prize winner to keep you and your furry friend traveling in style! And don’t worry, we’re throwing in some delicious and healthy Zukes doggy treats for every winner to share with their pup!

Please upload your photos between December 6 and 16. Feel free to submit more than once. We’ll choose a winner this Friday and the final winners next Friday, December 16. We’ll feature our favorite photos each week right here on the blog.

You can submit photos from anywhere in the world, but we will only ship prizes to addresses within the continental United States.

Want to enter the contest too? Give us your most adventurous cycling photo; it can be from a gnarly section of single track or bombing down an urban hill on your single speed. Just upload your photo to our Flickr pooland tag it with “adventurecycling.” Every week during the month of May we’ll be picking our favorite to win an ACA membership and a Raptor 6. At the end of the month we’ll leave picking the winner up to you, getting our fans to vote and choose our People’s Choice Winner.

Note: Osprey will retain the right to images for future use in blog posts. And please note that we can ship to U.S. addresses only.